The Mating Game
by spell.binding
Summary: Inspired by Jane Austen's Emma and Pride & Prejudice. Bella is at boarding school, a serious dancer with high goals and great friends. She's determined to find everyone's soul mate, and ignore the fact she found hers! BxE! AU - Human. R&R por favor!
1. New Kids On the Block

**[A/N: Hey guys, here's my newest story. I'm really eager to hear what you guys think and I▓m also very, very, very nervous!**

**Plot Summary: **_Inspired by Jane Austen▓s 'Emma' and 'Pride and Prejudice' comes a story based of the Twilight series. Bella is a pretty popular teen having a great time at boarding school. She's got tons of friends and admirers but gets turned around when the higher-than-thee Edward Cullen enters the picture. He seems to have everything figured out, except her. All the while Bella is trying to reach her dreams as a dancer, and playing matchmaker while trying to avoid the fact that she has most definitely found the boy for her, even if he's everything she's thought she never wanted._

**Disclaimer:** _I do not own any of the original characters from the Stephanie Meyer books. But a girl can dream can't she? _

* * *

"Here we are," Rene said in small sad voice. The usual high pitched girly incessant chattering that always seemed to be bubbling out of her mouth was missing. It was all Bella could do to not roll her eyes and giggle at the dramatic show her mother was putting on.

"Mom, don't be like this. We had two" she stressed the word two "very... long.. enjoyable months together. I watched Phil play baseball every. single. day. and you cooked every. single. day." The last bit came out through a forced smile and gritted teeth... But Rene, to consumed by her pouting, failed to notice.

"I just don't see why you can't go to school a little closer to home, Tallahassee has some great schools and Phil is supposed to be playing there for this season - no moving around!" Rene was obviously trying her best to make the present situation seem more appealing then being miles away from any parental supervision in Miami of all places... she was failing miserably. "Even living with Charlie would be better; at least you'd have some family to keep you safe!" Bella shuddered at the thought of going to Forks High School, the only thing smaller than the student population was the facility itself.

"I'm so sure! Besides, I love this school... I have tons of friends, and it makes me all the more excited when I get to see you after months of missing you desperately!" The last part wasn't entirely un-true... there's something about a mother's hug you just couldn't replace, but the freedom she got was so worth the distance! "And, this school is top notch. I'll be sure to get into a great college and my dreams will be that much closer!" Bella knew the responsible ending would win Rene over but the truth was, now that Phil was making quite an income, there wasn't any school Bella couldn't pay tuition for - her options were wide open.

"Oh, alright ms. responsible. You make me feel so immature sometimes; do you need me to help unload your luggage?" Her mom's mood was getting better by the second and relief washed over her when she realized she was going to complete yet another semester at Brighton Academy.

"No I▓m fine, my trunk has wheels and everything else is stored in the Alpha Dorm" Bella flashed her an apologetic smile and reached across the BMW's arm rest and embraced her mother one last time before she saw her again during Winter Break. Her mother smiled, kissed her cheek and told her to go before all the good beds were taken - which made her laugh. If anyone tried to take her bed in the dorm they knew she would fight for it.

Bella opened the heavy door of the BMW and searched for her purple pumps which she had kicked off at some point during the drive. After finding them she pulled herself out of the car and onto the sweltering asphalt. She felt the heat ripple below her, blowing hot air on her face and dress. Out of concern, not wanting to be flashing anyone with out knowing it, Bella adjust her white flowy empire dress that ended right above her knees - showing off her killer tan and awesome new Jimmy Choos.

Yes, Phil's new career jump had suited Bella just fine. She walked quickly to the trunk of the car, which had been popped open, and wheeled, out her candy red trunk which she let plop to the ground with a loud thud. Shaking off the light sweat which had formed at her hairline, Bella decided to move quickly afraid that her perfect spiral curls may frizz.

Allowing herself to move as fast as her heels would let her go, she waved once more to her teary eyed mom, and she reached the arches of the campus quickly. Just before entering school territory, Bella surveyed her last moment of remaining freedom. She could easily start running for the nearest bus stop and leave school behind her... but that wasn't her dream. Bella was a killer dancer and had plans to, although her parents were unaware, apply to Julliard. The mere thought sent shivers down her spine; she still had to pass this ending semester to even be considered.

So, without any more pauses, Bella squared her shoulders - set her jaw - and strutted onto campus like the Queen Bee she was.

* * *

The mobs of people darting over to Bella to ask her about how "amazingly amazing" her summer was, was overwhelming to say the least. Just to get to the Alpha dorms took 25 unnecessary minutes. She was sure the back of her neck was sticky with sweat but she managed to stay relatively dry in this blistering heat and humidity. She could barely suppress a moan of pleasure when she walked through the French doors of the dorm's air-conditioned lobby. She dropped her trunk where she stood and just took in everything about the dorm, eyes closed, oh how she'd missed this. The smells of girly perfume, the sounds of whispers and gossip, taste of success, it felt right. She heard clacking coming increasingly closer by the second and began to grin to herself, she knew that effortless cat walk strut anywhere - even if she couldn't see it. Within seconds she was being strangled to death by a tiny pixie haired girl. Her best friend, Alice.

"Oh. My. GOD! I've missed you so much! You look amazing! You won't believe what happened this summer" Alice bubbled out, it was hard to resist grinning around her... she had this aura of happiness and youth. "Ok, so Lauren apparently begged 6 guys to hook up with her and was like... totally shut down by all of them so she was all depressed and..." Alice continued to spill gossip, jumping up and down during the exciting parts - wiggling her eyebrows during the sexy parts... Bella only half listened but was just so happy to have her best friend back after two months of BASEBALL! BASEBALL! BASEBALL! "Yeah, so she got the boob job and one is soooo obviously smaller than the other... it's the funniest thing I▓ve ever seen. Whenever I see her it gets me each time" Alice giggled happily and looked at Bella, expecting more of a reaction. "So... ms. seriousness... what did you do this summer?"

"Ugh, just watched Phil play baseball everyday and my mom was trying to be some sort of homemaker and made all of our meals. I swear that's why I can fit in to size 2 jeans now..." Bella rolled her eyes dramatically and feigned fatigue. Alice chuckled and linked arms with Bella and began to drag her away - to their dorm. Bella grabbed her bright red trunk and wheeled it along as best she could; Alice was so excited she was practically dragging her.

"Well that's no fun. But at least it's only for the summer... my family decided to send my brothers here too... they said some bullshit excuse like 'they can watch out for you'! As if, those two would soooo let me drown!" Alice whined, obviously having much resentment towards the situation.

"Aw, I'm sorry. But I thought you said the older one was really nice... and the one our age never really bothered you... ugh - what were their names again?" Bella asked lamely... she'd know Alice for two years but had never met her other siblings who regularly attended Manchester Boarding School in New England. She'd met her gorgeous parents Esme and Carlisle; she could only imagine how handsome her brothers must be.

"Emmet is the oldest; he's like a big teddy bear but loves a prank or fifty... And Edward is our age. He's naturally good at everything but knows when to be more reserved... whatever you probably wont see him that much anyhow" Alice sighed "But, back to Lauren..." And she droned on for another half an hour when they were cutoff by the clock towers light jingle - notifying that the dining halls were open.

"Ok, as much as I love to talk about the campus slut - I'm really hungry and I▓d rather not lose my appetite thanks to her"

* * *

"How on earth are you so skinny?!" Alice moaned when she saw Bella's tray was filled to the brim with steak, potatoes, greens, chips, cookies, soda and a small salad. Alice on the other hand had a large Caesar salad and a diet coke.

"It's all my dancing, it makes me so hungry!" Bella mumbled with a mouth full of food and she tore away at it - not realizing just how hungry she had been. After a moment of silence, the expression of horror still present on Alice's beautiful pale face, she felt a soft plop next to her and the presence of heat. Someone had sat next to her, someone warm... She turned her head and almost gasped. There was a boy sitting next to her, the most beautiful she'd ever seen. His hair was a rusty auburn color and his eyes sparkled like emeralds. His features had the ability to be clean cut and defined but still soft all at once, he seemed tall - although he was sitting down - and his graphic tee could barely hide the muscle definition she saw poking out underneath. Wow.

"Oh, ok Edward! Make yourself comfy, don't say hi or anything! Wouldn't want you to hurt yourself in the effort to be friendly!" Alice whined at him. He rolled his eyes and chuckled lightly; he turned his handsome self to face Bella and stuck his handout formally.

"Hello Bella, I'm Edward" He said, his voice musical and rich. She was fairly shocked to have him know her name but she didn't care. In his voice her name sounded like a rare jewel. Not wanting to drool, Bella composed herself and shook his hand lightly and smiled.

"Hi Edward, it's nice to finally meet you. I have to drag any facts about you and... Emmet was it... out of Alice by force" She giggled slightly and cursed her brain for making her seem like some retarded school girl.

"Well, you're all Alice ever talks about, she shows us pictures... they don't do justice to the real thing though" He gave a crooked smile and she could have died right there... he was taking over her senses in a way she had never experienced and it was scaring her. It was odd... she had the extreme urge to take a photo of that smile and carry it around with her like some crazy stalker. 'Keep it together girl!'

"T-thanks! I never saw you before... today? Uh... but I▓m sure you look nice in a picture too!" She choked out lamely. She could feel her heart skipping and her face reddening. When her ashamed eyes locked with Alice's immense amusement was all she found. Bella tried to occupy herself with fumbling through her bag for her phone and gasped when she saw the time. "Shit! I totally forgot" She groaned. Alice cocked her head to the side questioningly, Edward leaned it curiously and she tried to ignore the extreme urge to pin him down and make his wildest fantasies reality. "Oh, I have to go help set up the dance room. I'm teaching a beginners course this year and I▓m helping the teacher make the semester's outline for each class" She explained quickly as she stuffed her belongings into her brown Kate Spade tote. She grabbed her point shoes out of her bag to have them ready for a quick change from pumps to toe shoes. She saw an impressed look wash over Edward's face and she cheered happily inside. "And then I▓m also helping the tap, jazz and modern courses build their base - they're new classes so they're all scattered about" Her eyes darted to Alice's watch and new she had no more time to waste.

"Go, go! We'll be fine, call me when you're done" Alice said, rolling her eyes and laughing. Bella stuck her tongue out and giggled. She then eyed Edward nervously, a small shy smile present.

"Well, um. I hope you like it here. If you ever need any help getting around - Alice has got my number!" She muttered lamely and began to walk towards the exit. She pulled the giant glass door open and looked back one last time, to survey Edward. He was talking to Alice and laughing, she was sure he was making fun of her most recent conduct. She squared her shoulders and glared at his unknowing face. This was going to be an interesting year, and somehow she knew, he would make it even more so.

* * *

**[A/N:**_ Ok, ok. This chapter was a little vague - but it's only the beginning. It's really just a test to see if my writing is ok and that you guys are into it so far. I'm sorry it's pretty short (at least for me) and the others will get longer once I get into the plot and such. I will take ANY SUGGESTIONS/COMMENTS/CRITIQUES to heart, so please feel free to REVIEW! I also would love a Beta, don't hesitate to offer. I do know where I'm going with this, I▓m sorry if it's super confusing at the moment! I'm not trying to be all messy and jumbled. Right now there are NO LOVE CONNECTIONS! Not even Alice and Jasper yet (GASP!). But don't worry about it_ _wink wink_. 

**GO REVIEW AND TELL ME WHAT YOU WANT!**

**T.B.C! **


	2. The First Cut is the Deepest

**The Mating Game, Chapter 2: The First Cut is the Deepest**

**[A/N: **I'm so sorry it took me so long to update! I just found one of my Betas (who unfortunately couldn't get back to me in time to approve this - sorry!) and our schedules aren't all hashed out so things were a bit hectic - plus I'm nearing the end of my semester so I have midterms, papers, labs, etc. galore. Please bare with me!

_A very special thanks to all the people who reviewed. I would have personally responded here but I wanted to get this chapter out ASAP. So this big e-hug HUG is for you! And to the tons of people who put me as favorite story, author, etc. - I love you. You are what made me get this chapter to you as fast as I could, even if the sudden downpour of responses was a bit of a pressure-adder... I appreciate it all the same!!_

* * *

"You almost ready Bella? I want to show you the routine I've set up for the beginners," Genevieve shouted through the fabric drapes that separated the prep room from the stage. Bella sighed to herself and tugged the satin lace connected to her toe shoes a little harder, she always felt better when her ballet shoes were well laced and ready to go.

"Just one second, I just need to finish lacing," Bella shouted back. When she had finished the 'x' pattern up her calf she heaved herself up and hopped up on Pointe to test how secure the laces were, they were perfect. She could already feel some tension, directed towards her humiliating ramble at the world's most attractive man, ease. With effortless grace Bella walked through the heavy cloth and entered the stage, smiling lightly as she made her way towards the center - feeling like she was finally in a place that made sense.

"Ah, there you are," Genevieve said, a grin splaying on her lips. Genevieve was retired prima ballerina; she had toured all over Europe with the 'Tempo' Dance Company. She wasn't an old woman; she had celebrated her 36th birthday last month, so her face was still youthful and beautiful. Her hair was a tumble of charcoal curls and her skin was a glowing olive. Her eyes were deep sapphire and always seemed to sparkle knowingly. She was also quite tall, reaching an impressive 6 feet, she always joked about how insecure her male partners would feel when she was on Pointe and jumping feet above them! But her height was what made her dancing so breath taking, it looked almost like a web of limbs flowing to a rhythm. It was truly something you had to experience for yourself, and for some reason Bella couldn't fathom, Genevieve always insisted Bella help her teach the classes - she really believed Bella was good enough. "I've laid out the recital piece for the beginners. I just am having such a hard time deciding what to do for the bridge," She could see the tall beauty chew her lip angrily; she hated to have a routine incomplete. "So, I want you to see if you can incorporate any beginner steps into a simple 2 minute bridge." She opened a large black book; inside there were sketches and names of moves to a routine. Genevieve always wrote down her routines just in case, Bella allowed her hand to travel from picture to picture - word to word. Imagining the steps in her head. She saw the blank area meant for the bridge and sighed at the length.

"I'm sure I can think of something," Bella said modestly. Already she was imagining bends and twirls she could mesh together to the beat of... of... "What music are you using?" she questioned quickly.

"Oh, a very simple rendition of 'Cercle de vie' by Revillo. I wanted something that would flow well but not compete with the moves," Genevieve explained and Bella nodded quickly, taking her place a few steps away.

"Could you play the bridge once, just so I can get the count down in my head?" She asked as sweetly as she could. Genevieve smiled and rolled her eyes and padded over to the small boom box at the edge of the stage. She clicked random buttons until she got to the right track and the music filled the room. "One and two and three and four..." Bella whisper softly to herself, moving her arms and feet slightly to the beat. Suddenly the music ended and the room was engulfed with a deafening silence. "Ok, I have it" She said softly.

She adjusted herself to a graceful tendu, her toes pointed and her arms elegantly spread. The count began in her mind and she started a fast tendu jete, sweeping her pointed toe out and in different directions. She then stopped at count 6, arched her back and swept a semi circle in front of her immediately straightening into a firm arabesque which contorted into a plie, 4th position. She lifted her self to attitude en Pointe and pushed herself into a regal chasse. She then stopped herself in 2nd position and rose to eleve and slid down into a split and recovered by then lying on her stomach and rolling quickly onto her knees, extending one leg to the side, then the other, and rose to an arabesque, 4th position - end. Bella was breathing quickly - more out of anticipation than exhaustion. Genevieve smiled wide.

"Now you've gone and made the rest of the routine complete crap, go change and get out of here you nerd," Genevieve laughed and began to pack up her things and unlace her black Pointe shoes. "Don't forget to be here bright an early, we still have to sort out the schedules and all of those fascinating details," Bella smiled brightly and walked off stage like she was on cloud nine. If it hadn't been for the stiff feeling of new Pointe shoes she would have walked out of the Dance Hall with a big goofy smile and her large satin shoes.

* * *

"That will be $1.50 miss," A large tan man mumbled behind a coffee stand. Despite the blistering heat Bella always craved coffee. She dug through her bag and produced two bills and handed it to the man in exchange for her steaming beverage.

"Keep the change," She said still giddy with pride. He rolled his eyes and dumped the money into an open cashbox and Bella continued to skip away happily.

"Watch out miss, it's pretty..." Bella took a big sip and managed to scorch her whole tongue and knew her bottom lip must be swelling as well and emitted a small scream of surprise. "...hot" The man muttered uselessly. "Sorry, I tried to warn you" His low voice said.

"No, no. It's really my fault. I was walking around here like I was invincible or something, that definitely woke me up" Bella offered. She could feel her swollen tongue and lip throb painfully but she smiled brightly and threw away the remains of her coffee - she couldn't possibly finish it in this condition. She sighed and turned herself around, headed towards her dorm when she collided with another body and fell to the ground. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" Bella apologized furiously.

"And I thought ballerina's were supposed to be graceful" An amused male voice chirped. She looked up to see Alice's brother Edward staring down at her. She felt herself moan in frustration and covered her eyes, pretending she did not - once again - do something utterly retarded in front of the gorgeous Edward Cullen for the second time that day. She felt two strong hands pull her north and she realized she was no longer on the dusty concrete but standing on her own two feet. When she had regained balance she noted that the two hands were still around her waste and she shrugged them off awkwardly.

"We are, but when colliding with a brick wall that wasn't there two seconds ago, how graceful am I supposed to be?" she quipped, irritation present in her tone. Without so much as a goodbye she proceeded walking towards her dorms, her face bright crimson and her breath quickened.

"Oooh, it bites," She heard Edward's voice murmur, obviously amused, beside her. She jumped a little, not expecting him to be there, but immediately threw him a look of distaste. She allowed herself to stop and glare at him defiantly.

"Ok, now that you've had your fun can you PLEASE leave me alone?" Bella felt her voice was a pitch too high and the serious tone she had been aiming for squeaked out into a juvenile whine instead. Edward smirked and instead swept a stray lock out of Bella's face and tucked it behind her ear. She shuddered involuntarily, and adverted her eyes to the ground, trying to see if she could get steam to pop out her ears - maybe then he'd get the picture.

"Whoa, what happened to - Ms. "If you ever need any help getting around"? I think I got along with her famously" He mused with a chuckle in his voice. Bella thanked God it was dark otherwise that shades of red she was turning would just be adding fuel to the fire.

"What, are you lost? Is that what this is about?" Bella's tone was involuntarily sharp. Even she winced at how angry she sounded. But Edward continued, un-phased.

"As a matter of fact, yes, I'm hopelessly lost. Dorm room, oh dorm room, where art thou?" Edward said dramatically his voice loud. Automatically Bella shushed him and looked around to see if anybody saw this 'drama king' in action.

"Ok, first off, no doing that again. Second of all you know where your dorm is, you were there this morning princess!" she hissed. This only drew a bigger smile from the taunting beauty.

"I'm afraid I just can't remember, I left all of my info in my dorm room... the only thing I have is" He reach in to his pocket and dangled something in front of Bella's nose "My key."

"B-b-but I can't take you there at this hour!" Bella moaned, her eyes growing wide. What was he playing at?

"Ok, fine, I can go to the administration and moan and groan about this really un-helpful girl I met along the way," His eyes darted dangerously to Bella's face. She glared at him with everything she had. Why did he have to be unnaturally gorgeous? Why couldn't he match his evil insides? Did Alice say she wouldn't really have to deal with this brother? She huffed loudly and began to walk in the opposite direction. "Is this a 'yes Edward I'll be a doll and take you to your dorm'?" He asked lightly.

"Yeah, yeah. Just keep walking." She hadn't even paused to make sure he was still on her trail. She was hoping that walking hard would take out some of her frustration and fury towards this boy. She adjusted her tote uncomfortably when she felt Edward's heat near her, again. She rolled her eyes and ignored the tingly feeling she was getting.

"So, seen any good movies lately," He said cheerfully in an attempt to be perfectly endearing. He waited for a response and when he got none he nudged her with his arm lightly. She jumped and scowled slightly.

"No part of this deal said I had to talk to you, and I don't intend on doing so." She snapped. And Edward kept his mouth shut and eyes down for the duration of the march to his dorm.

* * *

"Tada, now you can find it yourself and everything" Bella said very unenthusiastically. Edward smiled and stuck his hands into his pocket, peeking up to her through the small curtain his hair made. If she wasn't so royally pissed off at him she'd be melting right now, well... she was melting... slightly... but the feeling of distaste was balancing it all out.

"Thanks Bella, you wanna come in?" He asked, his voice perky and slightly cocky. Bella scanned the on looking boys, two of which wolf whistled, another yelled 'a girl who walks you to your dorm - nice one man!' and few other asked if she wanted to come to their rooms. She tried to hide her disgust and looked back at Edward.

"Yeah... I'm gonna pass," She stated bluntly. She was about to turn around and go, as fast as she could, but Edwards large warm hand stopped her in the process.

"Listen Bella, this may be strange... I don't think this has ever really happened to me before... but... I'm strangely attracted to you.. Like... really strange." A/N: this is really what happened in Pride and Prejudice BTW, I'm not just being weird He said, running his fingers through his hair nervously. Bella cracked... with all the shit he had put her through he was "strangely" attracted to her? What the hell? Her eyes flashed dangerously and a wicked smile graced her lips.

"So it all makes sense now. That's why you dragged me through the blistering feet about half a mile away from my dorm and" She got closer to him, putting a hand on his chest, staring at his lips seductively, "and wouldn't let me be. But now everything's different. Now that you've said you're 'strangely' attracted to me I have one thing to say," She leaned her face in and he closed his eyes, absorbing every word. She let her face fall, disgusted and removed her hand from his chest and smacked him as hard as she could. "Edward Cullen, you can just go fuck yourself! Kay?" She screamed. She abruptly turned, making sure no hand stopped her from leaving, and ran as fast as she possibly could, holding her ballet shoes as close as she could, her breathing heavy.

Very heavy.

* * *

"Bella?" Alice groaned beneath her covers. Bella was trying to sneak into her room successfully but to no avail. Alice could always tell when things were going to happen before they happened. She really shouldn't have been surprised. "Where have you been?" she mumbled.

"Dance Hall, I had to come up with a little routine on the spot... oh and then your brother made me show him to his dorm room... hit on me... then I slapped him. That's pretty much it." Bella said, nonchalant.

"As long as you're not pregnant" Alice sighed into her pillow. Bella chuckled, Alice must really not give a damn what happens to her brothers - either that or she just loved Bella more... who knows? Bella slipped out of her white dress, which she noted was slightly damp from all that running and grabbed a towel, pjs, toiletries, and her pink flip flops and slipped on a robe and headed to the girls' showers.

Luckily they were empty, no having to wait on a ridiculously long line, so she jumped into the biggest shower and locked the door behind her where she peeled of any remaining, sweaty, clothes. The warm water seemed to massage every worry out of Bella like magic, her grapefruit shampoo put her at ease and her loofa was just a little godsend. No one could have imagined how happy Bella was to be alone, clean, and genuinely relaxed for those precious 20 minutes.

When she was done she dried off quickly, wrapping her hair in the towel and slipping back into her robe. She proceeded to the sink area to brush her teeth, wash her face, and all those other fine details. When she finally slipped back into her room she saw the clock read 12 and was shocked by how long she was out. No matter, nothing sleep can't cure. She rubbed down her hair and jumped into whatever random boxers and tees she had lying around and closed her eyes, happier than she would have dreamed that day one was finally over.

* * *

"Sleeping Beauty waaake up!" Alice giggled. She jumped on Bella's bed and shook her, not being gentle. It took Bella several minutes to grasp what was going on and moaned when she saw Alice's overly perky face. "What? You can attack a Cullen but a Cullen can't attack you" She said, sticking her tongue out, Bella emitted yet another groan and tried to shove herself farther into the pillows.

"Why, oh WHY, do you have to be a morning person" Bella's tired voice rasped. Alice rolled her eyes and shook her once more before hopping off the bed to Bella's closet.

"Fine, I'll just have to pick out your clothes" Alice eyed Bella for her permission and Bella flopped her hand as to say - 'whatever'. Alice jumped happily and began to sort through Bella's uniforms and accessories. About 5 minutes passed and Bella finally rolled out of bed. Clothes were shoved in her face and she saw the school colors - Blue, Silver, and Green - like the colors of the ocean. Alice had picked her short pleated, forest green plaid skirt, a light white cotton shirt, dark navy suit vest with the school fabric badge pinned on, and a silver headband. Alice was all for school colors and Bella grinned at her selection. She put it on without question and found that the cotton shirt was really the way to go, especially in this humidity, it wasn't loose but in let her skin breath. Alice threw some black pumps at her as she was applying some lip gloss and eye make up and almost made her go from cherry kiss to bloody miss! Alice looked adorable as always. She was wearing a very light grey cami with a bold green cardigan that was pushed up to her elbows, she was wearing a navy pleated skirt and simple black pumps as well. Her short hair had a simple clip in it but it was relatively tame, her make up - minimal as always - still made her look flawless. Bella smiled and stood up, ready to embrace the day.

"Let's go I'm starved," She grinned at Alice, who smirked back.

* * *

"So you see, the more serious I become with dancing the nastier the calluses on my feet get... what if I can't wear heals anymore... what if I have to wear... sensible foot wear?" Bella moaned, her tray filled with pancakes and sausages and a tall cup of coffee. Alice, usually the one to be talking up a storm, seemed preoccupied... staring at something.

"Um. What? Sorry Bella what were you saying?" Alice's unfocused eyes turned their attention to Bella. Bella placed her tray down on the table and stared in the direction Alice was just looking. When she did she saw the face of a tall, well toned, blonde boy. He was so well defined, so precious looking, but very reserved.

"I see..." Bella smirked, giving Alice a wink. Alice, very out of character, blushed. "Wait... is something going on between you two?" Bella sounded shocked, and some what hurt - why didn't Alice tell her?

"Well... we've been dating since the beginning of the summer. His country house is near mine." She mumbled "Anyway, I TRIED to tell you yesterday but you were so scattered about I didn't get my 'moment'." She said trying to explain her withholding information. Bella sighed and smiled.

"So you really like him? He's not gonna be some jerk you dump tomorrow and cry about for the next week?" Bella questioned seriously. Alice smiled and shook her head.

"He's not like any other boy I've dated. And, you accidentally brought us together. You spilled sorbet on your white top and he gave you a gym shirt he had and while you changed we chatted... He so thoughtful. We can just sit and not talk but still be so content with each others presence. I feel like I'm the only thing he'll open up to. He makes you feel so calm, relaxed, it's strange." Alice rambled on. And Bella sat there, so happy for Alice. It seemed like she really had found that someone special.

"Go sit with him" Bella said softly. Alice gave her a look, unsure of what to do "No really, go. I don't want to be a third wheel and I want you to go talk with him, or not talk whatever you want" She insisted.

"It's ok Alice, I'll keep Bella company" A familiar voice said smoothly. Alice snorted and rolled her eyes, gave Bella an apologetic look and took off for the blonde boy's table.

"Is this really necessary Edward," Bella said, her tone becoming increasingly more irritated.

"Is what necessary?" He said innocently "Eating? Yup, afraid it is." He said, his face completely serious. A sound of aggravation escaped Bella's lips and she put her head in her hands. A boy Bella recognized from the school radio show's posters and her English class walked over to their table and asked something about making dedication songs for today's 'Dedicate Live'.

"Sure, I pick the song 'My Girl', dedicated to Bella Swan" She could feel the stupid grin on his face and growled lightly.

"And you Bella?" The boy.. What was his name? Asked timidly. Bella lifted her face out of her hands and smiled sweetly.

"Make it 'U & Ur Hand Tonight, dedicated to my dearest Edward," Her tone was almost venomous. The boy snorted back a laugh and walked away, shaking his head, obviously amused.

"Why are you doing this? I think I made it pretty clear I'm not interested" She stated bluntly. Edward smiled and shifted his fork in his hand.

"Ah yes, that. I've approached this all wrong you see. I've decided that I don't know you well enough to be throwing stupid words around. Instead, I'll try to be your friend. That's not too much to ask. It's obvious you're repulsed by me so I'll make this as a-sexual as you want it." He said pleasantly. Bella stared at him curiously, eyeing his sincere look.

"Just friends. As in, friendly towards one another in a completely non sexual way." Bella phrased slowly. Edward shook his head seriously.

"I have a lot of making up to do, and I intend on doing it." He offered Bella his hand to shake and she grasped his, shaking it slowly - never losing her focus on her gemstone eyes.

"A lot indeed" She whispered. Their hands still grasped his eyes still piercing through her.

It took all that she had to ignore the pleasant sensation that trickled down her spine. 'Fucking perfect' she thought bitterly 'what the hell have I done now?'

* * *

**[A/N:** I'm still struggling with the length. I know once I get super into this story it'll go on for miles - but this chapter is only about 8 pages I believe. I am trying so hard to have even intervals of Emma and Pride & Prejudice and then a bit of me as well. I still welcome more people to try being a **beta **for me, the more the merrier - I am picky though... sorry!! You can send me a private message or leave a review comment - either or. Well, I can truthfully say I don't know where I'm going with this. The mixture of the two stories is sort of winding it's own path and just taking me along for the ride, I really hope you guys enjoy it. Send me any ideas or requests you have for upcoming chapters - _i'll take them all into consideration 100!_

Love you guys!

**TBC...**


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